Select Page

AIDS/Other STDs

Students will be able to:

  • identify at least 5 STDs and the health problems associated with them
  • identify what AIDS means; methods of transmission (body fluids; [NOTE: French kissing may be a risk behavior; several researchers recommend avoidance of this behavior]; infected needles); and its 3 phases of infection (asymptomatic, HIV identified, full-blown AIDS)
  • identify ways to eliminate the risk of HIV/STD infection (avoid using drugs & alcohol which lower your resistance; remain a virgin until marriage; marry a virgin; avoid homosexual behaviors; marry a person who has not used intravenous drugs)
  • discuss in their own words how STDs can affect dating relationships and their future (education, jobs, spouse, children, etc)
  • identify the advantages and freedoms associated with a "disease-free" (healthy) lifestyle (PRIORITY A, PRIORITY B, PRIORITY C, PRIORITY D, PRIORITY G)

Major STDs:

  1. Chlamydia – bacterial – treatable, but studies show that 20% of those treated did not respond to the treatment, so they leave thinking they are cured and are not. Even those who are "cured" of the disease must live with whatever damage was done to their bodies before treatment. Reinfection is possible; chlamydia is very contagious — 50% risk of infection (1 in 2) with every sexual encounter. Serious damage to reproductive organs resulting in sterility; major cause of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID). About 80% of males & females with this disease have NO SYMPTOMS. Condoms have NOT been shown in several major studies to prevent chlamydia.
  2. HIV / AIDS – HIV virus is not very contagious – only about 1 in 500 encounters. However, if other STDs (chlamydia, HPV, Herpes, gonorrhea) are already present and the person is now exposed to HIV, the chances of acquiring HIV are greatly increased. Presently, over 40 million people worldwide are infected with HIV, 21.8 million have died from AIDS, and 13.2 million orphans from AIDS are left behind…In the USA, there were a total of 350,000 reported AIDS cases as of 1999 [MISH]. Over 40,000 Americans presently are infected each year, with those numbers rising each year. New strains of HIV are not responding to present treatments.
  3. HPV – Human Papilloma Virus – causes genital warts; present in at least 93%-99% of all cases of cervical cancer (15,000 American cases/yr -> 5000 US women die/yr, more than from AIDS); recent studies suggest synergic reaction with chlamydia to lead to cancer. Also causes penile cancer in men. May also be involved in prostate cancer. Highly contagious – 50% chance of infection with every sexual encounter (1 in 2). (It may even possible to contract this disease by wearing an infected person’s wet swimsuit.) According to a recent study, each new sexual partner/month of follow-up increased the risk of new HPV infection in women by a factor of 10, and HPV and cigarette smoking were the only two significant predictors of LSIL (low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, i.e. pre-cancerous condition), taking into account other potential risk factors [JAMA, 2001, 285; 2995-3002]. The CDC stated in early 2001 that condoms do NOT prevent HPV because it is passed by skin-to-skin contact, not by body fluids (the virus is in the sloughed off skin when skins rub together). Warts, if visible, can be pinhead to fist-sized; warts can be burned, frozen, scraped, or cut off, but may well reappear within a few months.
  4. HSV – Herpes II Simplex Virus – painful blisters in the genital area; believed that about 80% of herpes infections are transmitted even when no outbreak of blisters is present. Strong relationship between Herpes II and HIV: Herpes increases the chances of acquiring HIV; HIV increases the number of herpes outbreaks by 2-4 times as often, and the herpes outbreaks increase the speed of HIV progression. Public health experts say herpes is the most serious threat because of the exceptionally large number of people infected — at least 45 million Americans, 1 of every 5 Americans over age 11 — and because of its suspected ability to interact with HIV at the cellular level. The presence of herpes seems to accelerate development of AIDS.   "If you were HIV-infected and had herpes, your herpes would recur (far) more often than if you were not HIV-infected," explains Dr. Schacker, associate director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Minnesota, who has been studying the herpes-HIV link for more than a decade. "So you have an opportunistic infection that reactivates more frequently than almost any other (AIDS-related) infection…But when your herpes reactivates, your HIV replicates with greater efficiency and you have a faster progression of your HIV" [KAISER DAILY REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH REPORT (not pro-life), 8/16/01; kaisernetwork.org]) In the USA, young adults aged 20-29 most commonly contract HSV [MISH].
  5. Gonorrhea – bacterial –Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections are a
    major cause of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), infertility, and ectopic pregnancy in women and facilitate the transmission of HIV (1). Serious damage is possible to babies born to infected mothers. From 1997 to 1998, the gonorrhea rate increased 10.5% among women and 7.4% among men. Among women aged 15–19 years, the sex-age group with the highest rate of gonococcal infection, the rate increased by 11.4%. Among men aged 20–24 years, the rate increased by 11.3%.[CDC, 23Jun00 / 49(24);538-542, "Gonorrhea — United States, 1998"]
  6. Hepatitis B/D – HBV, HDV – viral – causes scarring of liver, chronic liver failure, and/or liver cancer. Hepatitis D apparently can only be contracted by someone with Hepatitis B; but HDV compounds the problems associated with HBV [MISH].
  7. Syphilis – spirochete – this is one of the oldest STDs; it is treatable; it has 3 stages and ultimately, if untreated, can cause insanity, blindness, or even death.
  8. Trichomoniasis – bacteria – treatable; severe itching, discharge.

See the STD section of this website for more current information.

Worth Remembering: If a person gets one STD, chances are very good this person has more than one. If a person has any of several STDs, this increases the chances of acquiring HIV.

Every day in the USA, 8,000 teens contract an STD. That’s 160 teens per Day per State. In a state with 64 counties, that’s 2.5 teens per County per Day.

A 2000 study released by the HHS in July 2001 (sponsored by NIH, CDC, USAID, FDA) found no proof that condoms protect against 6 of the above diseases, which comprise 98% of the 15 million new STD cases in this country each year. After at least 20 years of research, of the 138 peer-reviewed studies evaluated by the panel of experts, condoms were shown to be effective ONLY for about 2% of all STD cases: heterosexual HIV and woman-to-man gonorrhea (in the USA, most HIV is not heterosexual, and most gonorrhea is man-to-woman).

Be sure to point out to students as you discuss various diseases that IF THEY ARE NOT HAVING SEX (or using needles) THEY DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THESE DISEASES!!

Once students understand the very real dangers of these diseases and that ANY ONE can get them, we believe they are intelligent enough to make the healthy decision to abstain from all sexual activities until they are married in order to protect themselves, their futures, their future spouses and their children…